Hachi
by JR Salazar
Summary: A short vignette on that lovable guardian dog of Shibuya. Some spoilers, but not much.


This is a short vignette on Hachiko, the dog who guards Shibuya, and watches over it. Enjoy.  
  
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Hachi  
  
It is lonely out here, sitting on this pedestal on New Year's Day. I watch the people come and go along the station. Young girls with colored hair dressed in flowing kimonos chatting and giggling upon one another. An old lady is assisted by one of the policemen in crossing a street. In the distance, about 100, 200 meters ahead, lies a para-para dance competition between guys, their girlfriends chanting wildly, as if it were a concert for B'z. Behind me, a congregation of gaijin, that is, foreign citizens, talk amongst themselves about what has happened in Times Square. One of them is hoping that USC takes care of Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Must be a Trojan fan. I've never been to Los Angeles, but I hear it's very pleasant there. And on top of me is my second master, Kotobuki Ran-sama.  
  
You talk about the youth culture of gals, this is the epitome. My master, Ran-sama, is very impulsive. She lives a secular life, even after she graduated (she's now a toudaisei): shopping, righting wrongs, dancing, enjoying life the way she wants to...but at the same time, studying. See, right now, she's reading a philosophy book, in her kimono, while sitting on me.  
  
What's that? You want to know the meaning of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave?" How should I know, Ran-sama? A cave's a cave? People are moving backwards nowadays? How should I know? Oh, now I see the book. Hmmm, I suggest you find that out yourself. Great, now she's squeezing me, as if begging for me to get the answer.  
  
Anyway, the reason Ran-sama became my master is several years ago, when her parents first took her to Shibuya city, she saw me, and was amazed by me, standing there, like a guard. I looked all sexy and everyone; a sexy watchdog in a sexy town. I'm too sexy for myself. On a side note: Tokyo is divided into several wards. I'm in Shibuya ward, or Shibuya city. The western part are the suburbs, and there are some island wards, too. Back to the point, Ran-fell in love with me, and basically sat on me every day. I know this is a bit ecchi and all, but can you imagine...the sexiest gal alive; making love to a statue? And a statue of a dog, no less; with the soul of its respected patron! I, Hachiko, had to bee ridden on by Ran-sama every day, into elementary school, into junior high and senior high...  
  
But the years at Hounan especially became a pain in the tail. She had all these friends: Yamazaki Miyu-sama, a former gang leader, Hoshino Aya-sama, an honors student at Hounan, Asou Yuuya-sama and Otohata Rei-sama, two ikemen who had the hots for Ran and Aya, respectively (Yuuya-sama failed, opting for someone from Ikebukuro), and Kuroi Tatsukichi-sama, who was Ran's boyfriend (now fiancée, and second master. How nice). Not to mention me being the shame of the elders here, being ridden by Ran-sama every day.   
  
Nothing to take away from Ran-sama; she is very beautiful. Some guys who are ecchi melt into goo just seeing her. But she's no bimbo. A star on the school's track team, and a wonderful dancer, singer, and athlete, Ran-sama is all you could wish for in a master. She's been a citizen of this city for 19 years now, and she's been interviewed for about a half-decade on numerous magazines...she is essentially a celebrity of this city. You know, you will never find a more friendly, more sexy, more...wonderful woman like Kotobuki Ran-sama. Never. Never ever. That orange-bleach hair with a red mesh, those platform shoes and hibiscus motif, those slanted eyes. When you look into her eyes, her complexion, her figure...every guy wants her. (Although she's already taken.)   
  
It's funny, but...whenever Ran-sama sits on top of me, my worries go away. She is my master, after all. I feel protected. I feel assured. I haven't thought of the prospect of Ran-sama being a mother and all, but the thing is this: She has a side of her that is nurturing. She will protect anyone. She will even lay her life on the line to save anyone, or prevent anything from happening to Shibuya city. Even though she still doesn't want to be a police officer.  
  
She used to be a dumb student in her first year, but later on, she got back into good standing, and ended up as a Toudaisei, a student at Tokyo University. But she is still beautiful, a wonder to be with. Everybody in this city knows who she is. They know her as far as Hokkaido!  
  
But the past still hurts.  
  
It is a shame that my first master, Ueno-sama, passed away, I was waiting for him, even after he died. And when I died, my soul transferred to a statue that was made in my honor. I knew that I would not go away to that kennel in the sky, no, never. I told Amaterasu Omikami, that sun goddess who also loves dogs, "Amaterasu-sama, do you mind if I come back to Shibuya as a statue?" She replied, "Go forth. Fate may have you a new master, although she will be very liberal in her actions, maybe even radical, noble Hachiko." Nodding, I leapt from the heavens, one with the statue in Shibuya Station. For the next several decades, I waited for a new master. As the years passed on, I became lonely. People come, and people go, but I still waited for my new master to come. I howled at the sky, crying silently, bitterly, praying to fate that my new master, he, she, whatever, came forth to call me, Hachiko his or her own.   
  
And it came, in the form of a gal who had bleached orange hair with a fed mesh, a short miniskirt, platform soles, makeup, and a wide smile. She looked at me with wide eyes, and I looked at her. I looked into her. She was the one. A few days later, she was sitting on me.  
  
And she did that every day. Ran-sama. Beautiful, wonderful, lovable Ran-sama. My master.  
  
I sometimes get embarrassed by what my Ran-sama does, but I shrug it off. That's her nature. Causing a scene, everyone turning to her, and they enjoy it. I see her with her friends. They call over to her, telling her of a wonderful party up on Bunkamura-dori. She gives me a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and heads off on her newly-bought platform shoes, her book in hand and her eyeglasses still on, hibiscus flowers in her hair, gracefully skipping, as if it was the first time she met me, a little child, skipping.  
  
I, Hachiko, smile, and wish her well, barking happily. Because she is my second master, Kotobuki Ran-sama. Not as good as Ueno-sama, but rather better. There will never be another master like her.  
  
The sun sets. Day turns to night. I sit quietly, watching others go about their business, waiting for tomorrow, when my master will return.  
  
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The End 


End file.
